Read Online Major (The United Federation Marine Corps Book 5) by Jonathan P. Brazee - Free Book Online
Authors: Jonathan P. Brazee
Ads: Link
operation, borne out of desperation, had somehow succeeded. It took sacrifice, but it had been a success.
Holy snake shit indeed.
New Mumbai
Chapter 8
“There have been several requests for your recall,” Mr. Lamonica told him.
“I just did what I thought was right, sir. The SOG is a vile organization, and I’ve locked horns with them before. Someone had to step up, and I decided that was me.”
“‘Vile,’ Major? Not a very diplomatic term,” the chargé d’affaires told him calmly.
“Well, yes. Vile is just about right, sir. That’s what they are.”
“Maybe so, but a good diplomat does not paint himself into a corner. I’m not here to tell you that the Soldiers of God are good citizens, and perhaps vile is as good a term as any to describe them, but that highlights the issue I have with you. You are a Marine, and evidently a good one. But this is a diplomatic mission, not a Marine assault. You are the proverbial bull in the china shop, coming in with your big feet and smashing everything in sight.”
“With all due respect, sir, I would do it all over again,” Ryck said, a hint of sullenness creeping into his voice.
He’d made more than a few promises to cut down on the arrogance, cut down on the ego that had started to surface in his actions, but this was a little much. Any Marine would have done what he’d done. And any Marine would not like getting in trouble for carrying out his training.
“Are you familiar, sir, with the scorpion and the crocodile?” he asked.
The chargé d’affaires looked puzzled, then said, “Why don’t you tell me.”
“It’s an old story, sir, hundreds of years old. In Africa, a scorpion came to a wide river. The water was too deep and swift for him, so he went to a crocodile sunning on the bank.
“‘Can you give me a ride across the river?’ he asked the crocodile.
“‘If I do, you will just sting me and kill me,’ the crocodile protested.
“‘Why would I do that?’ the scorpion asked. ‘If I do that, I will die too, drowned by the river.’
“The crocodile thought about it for a moment, then because it made sense, he agreed to give the scorpion a ride over to the other side. The scorpion climbed onto the croc, and the two started across.
“Half-way across the river, the scorpion stung the crocodile in the head, poisoning him.
“‘Why did you do that?’ the crocodile asked as the poison took effect and he started to sink under the water. ‘You’ve killed us both!’
“‘Because I’m a scorpion. That is what we do,’ said the scorpion before he, too, slipped under the water and drowned.”
A slow smile spread over the chargé d’affaires ’ face, and he said, “So you are the scorpion, Major?”
“Not just me, sir. Any Marine. We are trained to fight. You can pretty us up, send us to finishing school in Brussels, have us mix with the high and mighty, but in the end, we’re still Marines. You have to expect us to act as Marines.
“So if the powers that be want to send me back, so be it.”
Mr. Lamonica nodded, then said, “The ‘powers-that-be’ have left it up to the ambassador.”
“And that is diplomatic talk for it is up to you, sir.”
The smile on his face grew broader, and he didn’t deny Ryck’s statement.
“Sometimes, however, being more direct can have a more advantageous outcome. This may have been the case here. And I’ve just been told that our host’s command staff has recommended you for the Corona Navalis , and I hardly think it would be civilized of us to remove you before the ceremony, don’t you think?” he asked.
That took Ryck by surprise. The Corona Navalis ? The bronze oak leaves that made up a grubbing crown, an actual crown, on par with the Federation Navy Cross?
“But . . . I . . . I really didn’t do, I mean, it wasn’t that big of a deal. That’s a pretty high honor, and to give it to me,
Holy snake shit indeed.
New Mumbai
Chapter 8
“There have been several requests for your recall,” Mr. Lamonica told him.
“I just did what I thought was right, sir. The SOG is a vile organization, and I’ve locked horns with them before. Someone had to step up, and I decided that was me.”
“‘Vile,’ Major? Not a very diplomatic term,” the chargé d’affaires told him calmly.
“Well, yes. Vile is just about right, sir. That’s what they are.”
“Maybe so, but a good diplomat does not paint himself into a corner. I’m not here to tell you that the Soldiers of God are good citizens, and perhaps vile is as good a term as any to describe them, but that highlights the issue I have with you. You are a Marine, and evidently a good one. But this is a diplomatic mission, not a Marine assault. You are the proverbial bull in the china shop, coming in with your big feet and smashing everything in sight.”
“With all due respect, sir, I would do it all over again,” Ryck said, a hint of sullenness creeping into his voice.
He’d made more than a few promises to cut down on the arrogance, cut down on the ego that had started to surface in his actions, but this was a little much. Any Marine would have done what he’d done. And any Marine would not like getting in trouble for carrying out his training.
“Are you familiar, sir, with the scorpion and the crocodile?” he asked.
The chargé d’affaires looked puzzled, then said, “Why don’t you tell me.”
“It’s an old story, sir, hundreds of years old. In Africa, a scorpion came to a wide river. The water was too deep and swift for him, so he went to a crocodile sunning on the bank.
“‘Can you give me a ride across the river?’ he asked the crocodile.
“‘If I do, you will just sting me and kill me,’ the crocodile protested.
“‘Why would I do that?’ the scorpion asked. ‘If I do that, I will die too, drowned by the river.’
“The crocodile thought about it for a moment, then because it made sense, he agreed to give the scorpion a ride over to the other side. The scorpion climbed onto the croc, and the two started across.
“Half-way across the river, the scorpion stung the crocodile in the head, poisoning him.
“‘Why did you do that?’ the crocodile asked as the poison took effect and he started to sink under the water. ‘You’ve killed us both!’
“‘Because I’m a scorpion. That is what we do,’ said the scorpion before he, too, slipped under the water and drowned.”
A slow smile spread over the chargé d’affaires ’ face, and he said, “So you are the scorpion, Major?”
“Not just me, sir. Any Marine. We are trained to fight. You can pretty us up, send us to finishing school in Brussels, have us mix with the high and mighty, but in the end, we’re still Marines. You have to expect us to act as Marines.
“So if the powers that be want to send me back, so be it.”
Mr. Lamonica nodded, then said, “The ‘powers-that-be’ have left it up to the ambassador.”
“And that is diplomatic talk for it is up to you, sir.”
The smile on his face grew broader, and he didn’t deny Ryck’s statement.
“Sometimes, however, being more direct can have a more advantageous outcome. This may have been the case here. And I’ve just been told that our host’s command staff has recommended you for the Corona Navalis , and I hardly think it would be civilized of us to remove you before the ceremony, don’t you think?” he asked.
That took Ryck by surprise. The Corona Navalis ? The bronze oak leaves that made up a grubbing crown, an actual crown, on par with the Federation Navy Cross?
“But . . . I . . . I really didn’t do, I mean, it wasn’t that big of a deal. That’s a pretty high honor, and to give it to me,
Similar Books
